Clicking machine



v E. 1. LA CHAPVELLE 2,187,162

CLICKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 21, 1938 Figtl. 4

Patented Jan. 16, 1940 PATENT I OFFICE CLICKING MACHINE Euclid 1. LaChapelle, Brockton, Mass, assignor to United Shoe MachineryCorporation,- Borough of Flemington, N. Jersey .I., a corporation of NewApplication February 21, 1938, Serial No. 191,630

4 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for operating upon sheet material andis; herein illustrated as embodied in a clicking machine of the typeillustrated'in United States Letters Patent No. 1,068,455, granted July29, 1913, upon an application filed in the name of A. R. Schoenky.

In cutting blanks such as shoe part blanks from sheet material it iscommon practice to make use of a click-machine provided with a wood orfiber cutting block and to use as cutting tools dies havingcomparatively sharp edges. Such dies penetrate slightly into the cuttingblock and consequently eventually become dulled and require sharpening.Some use has been made of machines provided with metal cutting blocks inwhich case blunt dies which require little or no sharpening can be usedwith good results. However, blunt edged dies cannot be usedsatisfactorily in the cutting of fabrics or certain types of upperleathers such as suede.

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to provide animproved clicking machine especially adapted for use with either sharpor blunt edged dies in cutting blanks from sheet material. To this endand as illustrated, I have provided a clicking machine having a frame, acutting block carried by the frame, and a removable auxiliary cuttingblock resiliently carried by the frame in spaced relation to thefirst-mentioned cutting block, together with a presser arm selectivelycooperable with either of the blocks to force dies through sheetmaterial positioned thereon, thereby to form blanks. The auxiliary blockis preferably of metal and is adapted for use with comparatively bluntdies in cutting blanks from leather and similar materials wherev as theother block is preferably made of wood or disclosed in the followingspecification and in' the accompanying drawing and are pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawing: Fig. 1 is a view inside elevation of a clicking machineembodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of a portion of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a view partly in section of details of the cutting blocks andsupporting structure;

Fig. 4 is a detail view partly in section of a portion of the device foradjusting the presser arm w As shown in Fig. 1, the machine comprises aframe 0 having a bed or support l2 and a spindle l4 carrying a presserarm I6 arranged for movement with the spindle laterally across the bedl2 and movable heightwise thereof and performing pressure-applyingoperations upon dies positioned upon material located upon a cuttingblock l8 carried by the bed l2. The cutting block I8 is preferably ofwood and other fibrous material and is well adapted for use in formingblanks with the aid of sharp edged dies such as the die 20 shown inFigs. 5 and 6 from sheet material such as canvas and other fabrics aswell as substantially all types of upper leathers.

In order to provide a cutting surface which can be used with blunt diessuch as the die 22, shown in Figs. 7 and 8, for cutting blanks frommaterials such as most upper leathers the machine is provided with ametal cutting block 24 supported on vertical rods 26 extending throughopenings 28 in bosses 30 carried by the bed l2. The upper ends of therods are provided with recesses 32 arranged to receive shouldered pins34 secured to the metal block 24 by screw threads 35. The pins 34 engagethe recesses 32 with a sliding fit such that the block 24 can readily beremoved from the rods 26 by elevating it slightly. The block 24 isnormally spaced a slight distance above the upper surface of the cuttingblock l8 and is yieldingly supported against thrust of the pressermember It by springs 38 which surround the rods 26 and extend betweenthe upper surfaces of the bosses 30 to shoulders 40. This constructionprovides a sufficient yield of the block 24 in a downward directionduring the cutting operation to prevent breakage of dies between thecomparatively unyielding surfaces of the presser arm l6 and the surfaceof the block 24,

Preferably, the block 24 comprises a plate 42 (Fig. 3) of cast iron orsteel and carries a replaceable cutting plate 44 of tempered steel.

In view of the fact that cutting dies used in the machine aresubstantially the same height it is desirable to adjust the presser arml6 heightwise of the spindle l4 when the cutting block to be used ischanged. To this end the presser arm is provided with a split collar 46which surrounds the spindle l4 and is clamped thereto by screw bolts 48.The spindle is provided with screw threads 50 which carry a nut 52adapted to engage the lower portion of the collar 46 and to adjust thepresser arm heightwise of the machine when the bolts 48 are loosened.When this adjustment is being made, in order to prevent turning of thespindle M with the nut as the nut is rotated, there is a hand screw 54adapted to enter a slot 56 in the spindle to hold the latter stationary.

In the operation of the machine with the cutting block 24 in its normalposition, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, dull edged dies are placed uponmaterial positioned upon the block and the presser arm is operated toforce such dies through the material into contact with the block whichyields slightly as the springs 38 are compressed. When it is desired tomake use of sharp edged dies the cutting block 24 is removed from thevertical supports 26 and after lowering the presser arm It by means ofthe nut 52 the spaced upper surface of the Wooden cutting block I8becomes the cutting surface for the material. Thus it should be apparentthat I have provided a comparatively simple mechanism by which aclicking machine is adapted for use in cutting sheet material witheither sharp dies or blunt edged dies.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A clicking machine comprising a frame, a cutting block carried by theframe, a presser member mounted upon the frame for movement laterallyacross the block and heightwise thereof, and an auxiliary cutting blockremovably mounted upon the frame and spaced in a heightwise directionfrom the first-mentioned cutting block.

2. A clicking machine comprising a frame, a bed carried by the frame, apresser member mounted in the frame for movement laterally across thebed and heightwise thereof, a plurality of rods resiliently mounted uponthe frame adjacent to the bed, and a cutting block removably mountedupon the upper ends of the rods.

3. A clicking machine comprising a frame, a wooden cutting block carriedby the frame, a metal cutting block spaced from the wooden cutting blockand resiliently mounted upon the frame, and a presser arm movablelaterally of and heightwise of the frame and cooperable selectively witheither of the cutting blocks to produce pressure-applying operationsupon work positioned thereon.

4. A clicking machine comprising a frame, a cutting block mounted in theframe, a plurality of rods extending heightwise of the frame andadjacent to the cutting block, an auxiliary cutting block mounted uponthe ends of the rods in spaced relation to the first-mentioned cuttingblock, and a presser arm selectively cooperable with either of thecutting blocks for producing pressure applying operations upon materialpositioned thereon.

EUCLID I. LA CHAPELLE.

